Seasonal Burger/Ice Cream Stands

Seasonal Burger/Ice Cream Stands

I'm always surprised around this time of year that New England can still support the seasonal burger stand. I mean, with real estate costs skyrocketing through the roof, it's amazing to me that a little mom and pop burger joint can make enough money to stay in business from March to Columbus Day.

Do we really buy enough $1.25 hot dogs and raspberry-lime rickeys in four months to keep these joints afloat all year? Or are they just an elaborate front constructed by liposuction clinics to self-perpetuate their businesses?

We've got several such seasonal joints around and they all seem to make some truly outstanding burgers:

The Rosewood, Route 126, Bellingham, MA: This place is more known for ice cream than burgers, but these hot little sandwiches are great. The fried seafood is also outstanding, though I can never get past ordering a cheeseburger plate.

Tasty Freeze, Route 135, Ashland, MA: My only problem with this little stand is that a burger and fries can be an afternoon-long experience. Don't go in hungry or in a rush, because you'll leave disappointed. That said, they make a delicious griddle-fried burger.

C & L Frosty, Route 27, Sherborn, MA: This place doesn't exactly fit the description since it's open all year long, but it's just the kind of soft-serve/burger joint I'm talking about. I can't think of anything more satisfying than an order of C&L's crispy fries and two of their tender cheeseburgers slathered in mayonnaise.

I saw the topic and thought, "What a great topic." Lo and behold, it was my lovely spouse who started the thread! I think he forgot a couple, though:

The Chuck Wagon/Patti's Ice Cream, Route 1A, Walpole, MA. Great little place with a huge menu and great nightly specials. Good burgers and outstanding onion rings! Not open on Monday or Tuesday. Classic roadfood.

Bubbling Brook, Route 109, Westwood, MA. A favorite when we were kids. I haven't been there in a few years, but I recall they also had great onion rings and some pretty good fried clams.

Nick's Ice Cream, Route 135, Natick, MA. Saturday night is Cruise Night. Come and see the old cars and listen to 50s music while you munch on your hot dogs, burgers and cones!

A little place called Big Star Drive-In, south of Milwaukee in Kenosha, WI.Great burgers and real Wisconsin fried cheddar cheese nuggets!Seasonal - follows local school schedule?A friend of mine grew up in Kenosha, and there is always a kind of buzz that happens with he and his family/friends when they see Big Star will be open- "Hey Big Star is open!, so when you coming down?"I liken it to the same buzz you hear when the local McDonald's has the cheddar melt on the menu(Don't even try to tell me you don't pop in there when that burger comes around- we all have our guilty pleasures!)Point of interest: Directly across the street(22nd Ave.), lies the Washington Park Velodrome- a 333 meter bowl shaped bicycle track. We find great humor in watching these highly fit competitors fly around the track as we savor our shakes and burgers!

> I liken it to the same buzz you hear when the local McDonald's has the cheddar melt on the >menu(Don't even try to tell me you don't pop in there when that burger comes around- we all have our guilty pleasures!)

Did you see that Simpsons episode when the Ribwich is discontinued locally, Homer joins up with the Ribheads and follows the mystery meat sandwich tour around the country? He also lusted for a sandwich know as the What-cha-ma-chicken. Ha ha!

Polly's is a Burger/Soft-Serve stand on St Rt 62 just off the I-64 in Georgetown, Indiana. We always watch the Spring clean-up and touch-up of the place to be ready to visit as soon as it opens in March. Then shortly after Labor Day it slips back into it's cocoon for the winter season. I don't know how they do it, but it seems to do a large volume of business every day it is open..rain or shine.

There's a great seasonal burger place in Rhinebeck, New York, called Del's Dairy Creme. I went to college nearby (regrettably, I was a vegetarian the entire time), and all of my carnivorous friends LOVED Del's. I actually ended up marrying a Del Burger lovin' college friend and moving far away, so I didn't actually get to try a Del Burger until we took a road trip last summer. Bliss in a bun. It was the best burger I've ever had. Something about the ratio of charbroiled meat to cheese to bun to whatever else you choose to get on it. You know how when you're eating a burger, certain bites of the burger are always slightly tastier than others (or is that just me)? Anyway, all the bites of a Del Burger are equally droolworthy. Mmmm.

If you're in the area, make sure to stop by one of the local grocery stores and get a bottle of Ronnybrook Farms chocolate milk, too. It's the best chocolate milk ever, and it comes in a nifty glass bottle. Shake well to distribute the thick layer of cream at the top...

There is a place called Webers Hamburgers on the way to cottage country here. It is right on a six lane highway. Lined up from the gitgo when the weather turns nice. Many years ago they had to spend $150,000.00 to place a bridge across the highway as people were coliding with vehicles crossing in search of a burger on their way home. Pretty good burgs and of course you see the latest in summer wear.

A number of them in our area are owned by "snowbirds" who take off in their RV's or head toward their winter places in Florida. One couple bartends at the same club in Florida during the winter season every year and then heads back up north in the spring to get the stand ready for a memorial Day opening.

The best custard stand is Don & Berts in Paulsboro, New Jersey my old home town. They not only serve great frozen custard but also their cheese steaks and cheese fries are known throughout south Jersey

Lou's Drive-In on Knoxville Avenue in Peoria (IL) has been operating only during the summer months for over 50 years with curb service. A few years ago Lou passed away, but his wife continues the operation. They even have a listing in the phone book. They are practically the only place around the area that still has a 4 foot-tall rootbeer barrel to serve their rootbeer from. Each spring when they are ready to open, the opening is announced in a newspaper article! Excellent tenderloin, hot dog, and burger baskets (with fries) and certainly top-notch roadfood. If you want to see a picture of Lou's, check out http://www.peoriarestaurants.com/DiningCategories/lousdrivein.htm During the winter, Lou and his wife always went south, and their lot is rented to a quality Christmas tree farm out of Michigan for that season.

to answer your question, yes, they sell enough in 4 months to make it worth while. Zip for overhead, next to nothing in employee costs, plus they have the advantage of knowing that you know they will only be open for a limited time.

The best of them all Clare & Carl's original location on Route 9 south is open from late April to just after Labor Day.

Clare & Carl's "other place" (that's what they call it) is located on Boynton Ave., about 1 mile west of the Georgia Pacific paper mill in Plattsburgh. It has a wider menu selection and is open year-round.

If you ever find yourself in Niagara Falls, NY during the spring or summer (yes, those seasons do exist there), an ice cream place called Dee Dee's has very good ice cream -- a brand called Perry's. It's my wife's favorite.

As far as McDonald's and a chedder melt, I'm being entirely honest when I say I never heard of it.

Both Dairy Queens in this area are somewhat seasonal. One opens in late February and closes in early november. I believe the other remains open through mid october and reopens in april. this tactic has seemed to keep them in constant popularity, as both are over 40 years in existence, now.

I was just reading through the topic list and came across cfitz thread. I grew up and now live in Sherborn, MA. home of C & L Frosty, and have been to all of the other places listed in the Western exurbs of Boston. C & L used to be seasonal when I was a kid; opening day used to coincide with the beginning of Little League. It is now year 'round, but is still frequented by baseball/softball kids and coaches (including myself and kids) in the summer. By the way, Nick's in Natick is now Nicholas' Restaurant; Nick got a liquor license, so the rods and dragsters relocated to the Cliquot Club Grill in Millis on Saturday nights. db

Ronnies on Rt 20 in Auburn Ma, if you can stand the lines, or Howards on Rt 9 in the Brookfields (Massachusetts)

I got to Ronnies this past weekend for the final weekend of the season. They were out of some flavors of ice cream on Saturday, so by Monday, when they often run a half price sale, pickings must have been slim. Fried clams were on special all weekend, but I didn't want to brave that line. (ice cream and clams are in different buildings) The ice cream wait wasn't bad. They had 4 lines going and we picked one of the longer lines as a friend of my daughter was working it. The wait was less than 5 minutes.